SeanMike

Anyone know of a good list of what restaurants and bars are open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

For instance, I know the Passenger is closed Christmas Eve, but Hogo and Mockingbird Hill (for instance) will be open, and on Christmas Day Ragtime opens at 8 PM.

This year I'm sans family for the most part over those two days (parents are visiting over the weekend, brother will be at in-laws Xmas day, and I'm working the 24th and the 26th) so I'm hoping to get out of the house and have some fun.

(To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to it.)

EDIT TO ADD: I do know of Washingtonian's brunch list, but most of those aren't up my alley. I did just see this on DCist:

http://dcist.com/2013/12/restaurants_open_on_christmas_day.php

So how come red hair came into vogue when I was in my 40s? I grew up being called Carrot Top and Freckle-Face Strawberry, not to mention Rockville Pike.

There's a difference between a hot red-headed lady and a ginger dude, dude.

:D

(One time I tried to dye my hair red in high school, but it just all soaked in and didn't look any different. )

Julien,

My parents are visiting next weekend and I had told them we should have Sunday brunch at Eat the Rich.

Then I read your post and never have I been so angry that it's Monday and not Sunday. GAH! STUPID CHRISTMAS GET OUTTA THE WAY I'M HUNGRY ALREADY.

(And I forwarded it on to them to get them excited...)

I could watch her all day.  And are you saying there's food somewhere on camera with her? 

I just keep wondering why she hangs out with that blonde weirdo dude who loves burgers a little too much.

You probably don't want a picture of my leftover baked beans, nuked in an old Chinese soup take-out container, mixed with Spam.

I've been drinking a lot of one off random beers these past few weeks.  Some fall into the Xmas category, others are just out this time of year.  The one thing I can say with certainty is if you see a bottle of Sam Adam Cherry Chocolate Bock, run as far as you can the other way.  I think it only comes in their winter variety pack, and might be fine at a party for people who don't like beer, but wow this went straight down the sink after two sips for me.

Yeah, it was rather not-good. Reminded me of cough syrup.

I can't raise this above Cafe Montmartre (which, I assure you, is wonderful) until I go myself, but it's currently sitting at #2 in South Capitol Hill in the Dining Guide, above Beuchert's Saloon which I like a lot. These are three really good restaurants to have in such a small area.

It's also making it hard for me to resist the siren call of moving to the area. I keep telling myself it'd be detrimental to my diet and my wallet...

Prepare for the tears.

"Moving Without Mom" on Today.com

That brings me to the rest of the staff. It's a tribute to Chef Silverman and General Manager Andy Erdmann that the entire team exudes a sense of pride and yes, joy in working here.  When you are served by accomplished, happy people it makes a great meal a special experience. You might go the first time because you heard about the food - you'll come back again because besides the food, the space and the service make you feel welcome and at home.

DEFINITELY THIS. There are very few restaurants where I've gotten such a feeling of the staff being family rather than just coworkers. (And those are the places I love to visit.)

Same here.

I hate that type of functionality, scrolling through multiple menus, you can't easily customize things.

While you're right about some people (the self-checkout lines are painful for me to watch because people seem incapable of looking at a screen, reading what's on it, and understanding it, though I've seen that problem for years ever since I worked tech support), I have to say on the point I quoted that I've seen the opposite.

At sandwich-type places I've visited - including McDonald's, Wawa,Sheetz, etc. - that had computer-based ordering systems, it was fantastic for customization! There were so many things I could change I didn't know about, so many possibilities, and it ensured that the sandwich maker knew exactly what I meant (like at Subway when I say I want the "lite mayo" and they give me "light mayo" i.e. not as much but of the regular).

As for the chains - I go there occasionally due to work. I almost always sit at the bar, because even though I'm not the most talkative guy in the world, I like having someone to talk to occasionally. However, there are many bars where I'd love to have something like this just to get my order in, and not have to wait for the person working the bar to notice me, hope that he heard me right, etc. (That's more at airports really but still.)

I love Four Roses *so much* and special ordered a bottle of this. It's awesome.

ad.mich is right - I think that's because of their decades of basically shit products, which they admit and they're trying to fix. They're inexpensive and consistently *good*. (If you remember that bourbon family tree chart, Bulleit bourbon is 4 Roses - and it's also one of my faves.)

I loved the sheer honesty of their operation as well. Wish I could've visited their rickhouse and tried it straight from the barrel. Next Louisville trip!

I was there this week. Really enjoyed many places such as Dog and Duck Pub, Firehouse Lounge, and Peche.

http://scofflawsden.com/blog/2013/12/14/a-short-visit-to-austin-tx/

What might be of particular interests to those here is that I summarized my trip to Austin. I had some great food there.

http://scofflawsden.com/blog/2013/12/14/a-short-visit-to-austin-tx/

But where did the "high heeled go?"   where are the ladies?   geez.  i miss em.

Online, and to hotels. No need to walk the streets if you have an ad on backpage.com and either a driver or a room at a decent enough hotel. There have been busts at a couple of hotels in Ballston, and I've always called the hotel where La Caraquena there the Hooker Hotel for a reason. Crystal City also attracts a lot of them.

(One of my favorite hangover activities with a friend of mine was to surf the hooker ads and Gchat each other the most amusing.)

Yeah, I subscribed after Don's recommendation, and only got one issue. I hadn't really thought about it though.

Can't remember when I subscribed. Hmmm. Should keep an eye on PayPal, I guess.

While Schneider's was good to me for a beginning liquor lover, finding things I didn't know existed, there's a reason why I haven't been back since I discovered Ace. (That reason is Joe.)

Well, some of us are working...

So, under, say, movies, you want one thread per movie? And can it be any movie or should it be considered "fine arts"? For instance, I'd be happy to expound upon my love for the movie Dredd, and why everyone should support their efforts for sequels, but by no means could one consider that "fine art" at least IMHO...

Hi all,

Long time lurker who decided after years to finally take the plunge and join the forum. A Mt. Vernon Triangle resident who is very excited for the restaurant boom that is coming to the area and Shaw. Look forward to posting my two cents.

I like your user name! Do you believe in the Blerch, too?

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running

I wish I had another bottle of Horton's sparkling R-katz. Loved that stuff.

I'm a huge fan of the aged Citadelle.

Yup, I posted about it. It's a great chart. Even better: LDI used to be so mysterious, but there's a great follow up blog post by a well known whiskey blogger whose name I'm blanking on about how MGP (who owns it now) is so much more open...I'll post the link and attribution when I get a chance.

Four years old! How time flies, when you spend too many nights a week perched on a bar stool there...

I like this idea. Were you thinking of starting it with reviews already written on DR.com? Sort of having a "moderated" version of the board?

One advantage of this over a "traditional" review is that it'd be kept more up to date. Like when you go to a restaurant and it has a glowing Washington Post review...from 1999...on the wall.

As for who could post/edit/etc...I would definitely agree with them being authenticated and using their own names. I would also suggest that each user has a user page (sort of like you have here) that would list any industry affiliations, etc., that they might have such as where they worked in the industry, or if they're involved with ownership, for instance. Personally, I'd go as far as to say out of sheer comprehensiveness to list friendships - like how Don will mention when he's friends with a chef, etc. - but that might be a bit...weird...to work on.

I wouldn't make the limiting factor though number of posts. There are a lot of great members here on DR that don't post often, and there are people who post a lot who you might not trust with such a role. (I'm saying in a general fashion and not pointing at anybody here.) Perhaps if there was an editorial "board" who reviewed interested editors and approved them/rejected them/asked for more information...

An interesting response to some of the claims mentioned in previous articles:

http://www.dcfpi.org/a-few-more-tips-on-the-tipped-minimum-wage